How Canadians Can Cut the Cost of an American College Education

How Canadians Can Cut the Cost of an American College Education

Are you a Canadian student who is eager to go to college in America?

If so, you have been facing a funding problem. As you know, it will cost you a lot less to go to most any college or university in Canada than to attend a school south of the border. If you can simply attend a Canadian college or university – especially one that is located in the province where you live – you can go to college for a fraction of what it would cost you to pursue your studies in the U.S.A.

But suppose there is an American university that offers exactly what you have been looking for? Suppose you want to study epidemiology at the University of Chicago, comparative literature at Princeton, or ancient cultures at Dartmouth? If you’ve got that kind of bug, you have a financial challenge on your hands. But here are some solutions . . .

Apply for financial aid. You already thought of that, of course. But you might not know that lots of American colleges and universities currently give big financial aid packages to many, or even most, of their students. If you’re a top student from Canada, you could be just the kind of candidate they are looking for, and they could be willing to offer you scholarship dollars.

Get your community behind you. Sending a worthy student – you! – to a top-notch American university could be the kind of effort that local civic organizations could get behind. Also, wealthy individuals in your area could be willing to fund you. So don’t be shy about knocking on doors and asking for support. Also call the alumni affairs office at the college you are targeting to ask whether any graduates live in your area. They could play a big role in helping you get funding.

Start at a Canadian institution and transfer to an American one. Spending a year or two at a Canadian school is a great way to cut the cost of your American diploma nearly in half. You’ll have to earn high grades to appeal to an American college, of course. But you were going to do that anyway, right?

So, should you give up your dream of going to college in America? Not at all. The strategies we outlined in today’s post could help you bring the cost of an American college education in line with the costs of a Canadian degree. Not that we are knocking Canadian universities, mind you. Never forget, there are many terrific colleges and universities in Canada too. As American students know, most of them offer top quality and terrific educational value.